Dental care for drug users in Norway: dental professionals’ attitudes to treatment and experiences with interprofessional collaboration

Abstract

Background The present study aimed to assess dental professionals’ attitudes and experiences related to the dental treatment of drug users and to interprofessional collaboration with the rehabilitation institutions (RIs). Methods The study population comprised 141 dentists and dental hygienists (response rate 73%) working in the Public Dental Service (PDS) in three counties in Norway. All of the participants completed an electronically distributed questionnaire on existing practices and experiences regarding dental treatment for drug users and interprofessional collaboration with RIs. The Norwegian Centre for Research Data (NSD) approved the study. Results Thirty-five percent of the dentists and 10% of the dental hygienists had treated five or more drug users per month (p < 0.05). The majority of dentists and dental hygienists used more time for examination and treatment of drug users compared to other patient groups. Over 70% of dental clinicians considered drug users as demanding patients due to fear, missing appointments, and poor compliance with oral hygiene advice. Multivariable logistic regression analyses showed that attitudes and experiences with dental treatment of drug users were significantly associated with background characteristics of professionals. The overall perception was that drug users often had higher expectations of dental treatment than what could be defined as necessary care and provided by the PDS. One-third of dental professionals reported that they were satisfied with the collaboration they had with RIs. Most of the respondents agreed that personnel from RIs could positively influence interprofessional collaboration by having sufficient knowledge of drug users statutory rights to free of charge dental treatment, as well as by close follow-up and motivation of patients before dental treatment. Conclusions Dental professionals perceived the management of drug users as demanding due to dental fear, difficulties in coping with appointments, poor compliance to preventive measures, and disagreement between dental treatment defined as necessary and drug users’ expectations. Attitudes and experiences related to dental treatment of drug users were significantly associated with background characteristics of clinicians. Organizational barriers regarding leadership, accessibility, and collaborative routines, as well as lack of interprofessional communication, suggest current models of health care delivery to drug users need reviewing.

Large‐group simulation as a learning method to promote interprofessional collaboration and older adults' patient centered‐care

“…The sort of IP collaboration in IP meetings portrayed by this large‐group simulation that placed the patient at the center is not yet quite common in the social and health care services in Finland. The current, poor situation in ineffective IPC could be attributed to resources, but the real problem is probably the adherence to old‐fashioned practices, and the fact that changing these is difficult and time‐consuming 48 . However, the need for IPC to ensure the smoothness and quality of co‐operation in working life is already justified during basic degree education 49,50 .…”

“…The current, poor situation in ineffective IPC could be attributed to resources, but the real problem is probably the adherence to old-fashioned practices, and the fact that changing these is difficult and time-consuming. 48 However, the need for IPC to ensure the smoothness and quality of co-operation in working life is already justified during basic degree education. 49,50 IPC is also important from the perspective of comprehensive care and treatment, such as the perspective of oral health in the scenario described in the present article.…”

Daily Tasks and Willingness to Work of Dental Hygienists in Nursing Facilities Using Japanese Dental Hygienists’ Survey 2019

“…The participation of dental hygienists is likely to provide added value to healthcare and caregiving practice by leading to enhanced understanding of a patient’s health status. However, barriers to interprofessional collaboration, such as a lack of communication and information sharing, have been reported [ 36 ]. In our study, factors influencing the low interprofessional collaboration compared with other daily tasks were not identified and further studies are needed to determine specific factors that could enhance dental hygienists’ interprofessional collaboration.…”

Perilaku Sosial Pasien Rawat Jalan Dalam Ketergantungan Narkotika

“…Lebih lanjut, penelitian Baringbring menjelaskan pentingnya peningkatan kesadaran tentang kanker mulut pada pecandu narkoba selama masa pemulihan di Balai Rehabilitasi Narkoba Badan Narkotika Republik Indonesia (Baringbing, 2020). Lebih lanjut, hambatan organisasi mengenai kepemimpinan, aksesibilitas, dan rutinitas kolaboratif, serta kurangnya komunikasi interprofessional, sebagai factor pengahambat dalam pemberian perawatan Kesehatan pada pengguna napza (Hovden, 2020).…”